Housing in Urcea

Housing in Urcea is a vital economic sector in Urcea, with housing development and adjacent activity comprising approximately a tenth of all economic activity as of 2020. Urceans have strong social views on housing and housing strongly relates to Urcea's view of itself and its relationship with both private property and Catholic social teaching. Since the mid-20th century, disurbanist approaches have been popular in Urcea. Much of Urcea's housing stock was constructed in the form of single family homes following the Second Great War, although since the 1980s the priority has shifted to even lower-density exurban development.

In Urcea, housing policy issues are typically regulated by the Agency for Housing Development outside of cities and the Agency for Urban Development within cities. The Agency for Urban Development also works closely with the Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid to identify and develop new public housing opportunities.

Public housing

Public housing in Urcea is generally overseen by the Agency for Royal Public Housing and Royal Dormitory Aid or by provincial and local governments. Since the 1960s, the Agency has had specific policies for public housing, preferring to maintain single or multi-family rent controlled units within the same neighborhood within cities rather than tower blocks. The Agency is responsible for the general property maintenance of these facilities in conjunction with the occupants in the case of single family houses. Several "legacy" tower blocks public housing projects exist as well, especially in and around Urceopolis.

Private housing

Exurban

Exurban development has comprised the large part of Urcean real estate development since the mid-1980s reflecting increased distances from urban centers as well as changing social views.

In 2002, the Concilium Daoni lead by Michael Witte enacted the Family Living Act (FLA), which establishes several rules governing the construction of multiple structures on a property by real estate developers intending to sell the land, known as subdivisions. Among other provisions, the FLA requires that contractors must first offer a condensed area within a development (intended to describe cul de sacs and other insular portions) to bidding by extended family groups before individually selling each house. In effect, this law has had the effect of making many portions of neighborhoods or even entire housing developments being comprised of related individuals. Since a considerable portion of Urcea's single-family housing stock has been constructed since 2002, the policy has had a large impact on Urcean housing and social relations, with many policy analysts calling the project a "major success" in restoring the proximity of extended families. Critics have said that the FLA has had the effect of artificially raising the price of homes and home ownership while suppressing housing stock and discouraging development.

Urban town and country

The primary design philosophy of exurban development in Urcea revolves around the notion of creating "urban town and country", a design which has grown in frequency and popularity since the end of the 20th century. Urban town and country design creates areas of moderate density housing, typically one to two blocks of 5-over-1s surrounding a village green, town square, or roundabout park, surrounded by consistent low density housing with secluded cul de sacs and streets with large individual home plots intended for family ownership. This design is intended to allow individuals who can not own a home - either due to being short term transients to an area, lack of income, or some other reason - to live in rental units in and around the "central square" while simultaneously providing retail spaces - usually small businesses - in the central area. Besides residential areas, churches schools, and libraries, and one to two large parking structures (depending on the size of the area) are intended to be constructed directly adjacent to the central square area for easy access to services by local residents.

Proprietor communes

Throughout Urcea, small parts of land which escaped enclosure exist. Efforts were made during the 19th and 20th century to create a stable legal framework for these entities to survive, and accordingly the distinction of a "proprietor commune" or PC exists within law. The creation of PCs was the result of massive land surveyance efforts conducted in the immediate wake of the Second Great War in the 1940s and 50s, as individuals living on ancestral communal land objected to encroaching real estate developers; the Government of Urcea issued a large number of charters for these lands in 1954. PCs, governed by the Alternative Housing Law. PCs are lands in which the title is held by a corporation consisting of all of the residents within it, and accordingly all lands under a corporate charter are owned in common. PCs can only be dissolved with a supermajority of members voting in favor. Most charters individually lay out the terms on which individuals and families can build structures within the commune, but most provide for an enforceable prohibition on trespassing, ensuring a kind of private property for homeowners. Charters also give the communes wide latitude to establish standards for structures within the PC while not totally exempting them from local and provincial zoning laws. In effect, PCs function in a similar manner to home owners associations and collect fees. Banks are prohibited by law from discriminating against PCs and mortgages for individual homes are often assumed by the entire commune, who then levy the costs on the individual home resident.